Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Feedback Regulation of Calcium Concentration

Feedback Regulation of Calcium Concentration

Calcium is an essential signaling molecule required for various cellular functions. Calcium pumps and ion channels on cell and organellar membranes, such as those on the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), regulate calcium concentrations inside the cell. They remain closed, keeping the cytosolic calcium levels low at a resting state.
Various transmembrane receptors, such as G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), elicit a response to extracellular signals by increasing cytosolic calcium. Activated GPCRs...

Calmodulin-dependent Signaling

Calmodulin-dependent Signaling

Calmodulin (CaM) is a calcium-binding protein in eukaryotes that controls various calcium-regulated cellular processes. It has four calcium-binding sites that bind calcium to form the calcium-calmodulin ( Ca2+-CaM) complex. GPCR stimulation increases the calcium levels in the cells that bind to CaM and induces a conformational change.
The Ca2+-CaM complex does not have enzymatic activity by itself. Instead, the complex binds downstream target proteins, including membrane proteins or enzymes,...

Fertilization

Fertilization

During fertilization, an egg and sperm cell fuse to create a new diploid structure. In humans, the process occurs once the egg has been released from the ovary, and travels into the fallopian tubes. The process requires several key steps: 1) sperm present in the genital tract must locate the egg; 2) once there, sperm need to release enzymes to help them burrow through the protective zona pellucida of the egg; and 3) the membranes of a single sperm cell and egg must fuse, with the sperm...

Water and Mineral Acquisition

Water and Mineral Acquisition

Specialized tissues in plant roots have evolved to capture water, minerals, and some ions from the soil. Roots exhibit a variety of branching patterns that facilitate this process. The outermost root cells have specialized structures called root hairs that increase the root surface, thus increasing soil contact. Water can passively cross into roots, as the concentration of water in the soil is higher than that of the root tissue. Minerals, in contrast, are actively transported into root cells.

Plasmodesmata

Plasmodesmata

The organs in a multicellular organism’s body are made up of tissues formed by cells. To work together cohesively, cells must communicate. One way that cells communicate is through direct contact with other cells. The points of contact that connect adjacent cells are called intercellular junctions.

Plasmodesmata

Plasmodesmata

In a multicellular organism, cells must communicate to work together in a coordinated manner. One way that cells communicate is through direct contact with other cells. The points of contact that connect adjacent cells are called intercellular junctions.
Intercellular junctions are a feature of fungal, plant, and animal cells. However, different types of junctions are found in different kinds of cells. Intercellular junctions found in animal cells include tight junctions, gap junctions, and...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Cyto-architecture of Byblis glands and leaf cells based on freeze-substitution and conventional TEM.

Annals of botany·2024

Same author

Mother trees, altruistic fungi, and the perils of plant personification.

Trends in plant science·2023

Same author

Apical pollen tube wall curvature correlates with growth and indicates localized changes in the yielding of the cell wall.

Protoplasma·2021

Same author

Gland cell responses to feeding in Drosera capensis, a carnivorous plant.

Protoplasma·2021

Same author

Control of pollen tube growth: role of ion gradients and fluxes.

The New phytologist·2021

Same author

Author Correction: Tree rings reveal globally coherent signature of cosmogenic radiocarbon events in 774 and 993 CE.

Nature communications·2018

Same journal

Adapting KAS-seq for genome-wide transcription profiling in plants.

Trends in plant science·2026

Same journal

Better breeding leveraging more biology.

Trends in plant science·2026

Same journal

Women in plant science around the world.

Trends in plant science·2026

Same journal

Bilateral symmetry genes: If they exist, how would we know?

Trends in plant science·2026

Same journal

From xylem atlases to developmental continuity in forestry.

Trends in plant science·2026

Same journal

Small peptides guard the gate of plant immunity.

Trends in plant science·2026

See all related articles

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 27, 2026

Live Imaging of Arabidopsis Pollen Tube Reception and Double Fertilization Using the Semi-In Vitro Cum Septum Method

Live Imaging of Arabidopsis Pollen Tube Reception and Double Fertilization Using the Semi-In Vitro Cum Septum Method

Published on: February 24, 2023

Calcium entry into pollen tubes.

Peter K Hepler¹, Joseph G Kunkel, Caleb M Rounds

¹Biology Department, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003, USA. hepler@bio.umass.edu

Trends in Plant Science

|November 23, 2011

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Growing pollen tubes need calcium for cell wall expansion and internal gradients. This review explores calcium channels and the cell wall

More Related Videos

Staining the Cytoplasmic Ca2+ with Fluo-4/AM in Apple Pulp

Staining the Cytoplasmic Ca²⁺ with Fluo-4/AM in Apple Pulp

Published on: November 6, 2021

AMEBaS: Automatic Midline Extraction and Background Subtraction of Ratiometric Fluorescence Time-Lapses of Polarized Single Cells

AMEBaS: Automatic Midline Extraction and Background Subtraction of Ratiometric Fluorescence Time-Lapses of Polarized Single Cells

Published on: June 23, 2023

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: May 27, 2026

Live Imaging of Arabidopsis Pollen Tube Reception and Double Fertilization Using the Semi-In Vitro Cum Septum Method

Live Imaging of Arabidopsis Pollen Tube Reception and Double Fertilization Using the Semi-In Vitro Cum Septum Method

Published on: February 24, 2023

Staining the Cytoplasmic Ca2+ with Fluo-4/AM in Apple Pulp

Staining the Cytoplasmic Ca²⁺ with Fluo-4/AM in Apple Pulp

Published on: November 6, 2021

AMEBaS: Automatic Midline Extraction and Background Subtraction of Ratiometric Fluorescence Time-Lapses of Polarized Single Cells

AMEBaS: Automatic Midline Extraction and Background Subtraction of Ratiometric Fluorescence Time-Lapses of Polarized Single Cells

Published on: June 23, 2023

Area of Science:

Plant biology
Cellular physiology

Background:

Calcium is essential for pollen tube growth, maintaining cytosolic gradients and cell wall structure.
Cellular and molecular biology advances, alongside electrophysiology, suggest candidate channels and receptors regulate calcium influx.

Purpose of the Study:

To review identified calcium channels involved in pollen tube growth.
To discuss the role of the growing tip cell wall as a calcium sink.
To explain discrepancies between external calcium influx and internal tip concentration oscillations.

Main Methods:

Review of existing literature on calcium channels and pollen tube growth.
Analysis of electrophysiological data and cell biology findings.
Discussion of theoretical models for calcium dynamics.

Main Results:

Several candidate calcium channels and receptors have been implicated in pollen tube calcium uptake.
The pollen tube tip cell wall acts as a significant calcium sink, influencing observed calcium dynamics.
Differences in oscillatory phases can be explained by the cell wall's buffering capacity.

Conclusions:

Understanding calcium transport mechanisms is crucial for deciphering pollen tube development.
The interplay between calcium influx, internal gradients, and cell wall dynamics is key to successful pollen tube elongation.
Further research into specific uptake mechanisms will refine our understanding of calcium's role.